HOBOKEN-- According to reports, the NJ state Supreme Court has denied Hoboken's petition to review a state appellate decision that found the Monarch development was entitled to automatic approval.

The developers, Shipyard Associates, want to build two 11-story buildings near Sinatra Drive and Shipyard Lane, with 70 residential units.

The city says Shipyard Associates wrongfully abandoned a 1997 plan that included building three tennis courts and a tennis pavilion on the North Pier, besides the residential housing.

When it comes to the city's next steps, spokesman Juan Melli said, "The city is reviewing its options."

In 2016 former Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Shipyard Associates worked out a settlement. In the agreement, Shipyard would cease to build on the waterfront and would pay the city $500,000 to clean up the land and build a waterfront walkway. In turn, the developers would get to build more densely on residential property they own at 800 Monroe St.

However, in November 2016, the City Council rejected the proposed settlement. At a public hearing, roughly 30 members of the public spoke out against it citing density issues including parking, traffic, and sewerage.

Councilman Michael DeFusco issued a press release regarding the litigation, stating that he feels the city should work on good-faith negotiations with the developer.

"This outcome is further proof that the Zimmer-Bhalla administration's 'sue first, negotiate later' philosophy leads only to massive costs for taxpayers in legal fees, not to any kind of positive land use outcome," stated DeFusco in the release. "If your goal is to help out campaign contributors that's fine, but for the rest of us it's more clear than ever that the only responsible option in these situations is good faith negotiations with all stakeholders. My City Council colleagues and I are hopeful that Mayor Bhalla will agree to change course and enter into a negotiation with the Monarch developer with a goal of relocating the project without negatively impacting another neighborhood, and stop wasting taxpayer money on hopeless legal boondoggles."